AllFreeNovel
Share Us
9
Henry
“Hmm?” Henry took a bite of his chicken, reveling in the flavorful, crunchy texture. “What about her? Isn’t she the God of something or another?”
“The Goddess of Wisdom.”
“You know, I never quite understood what it was about the Greeks. What’s so great about having different gods represent different entities? I find it so much more realistic to have one, all-knowing, powerful being as my God.” He wiped at his mouth and swallowed his food, then snapped his fingers. “Except for that one god.” Henry continued to snap his fingers. “What was his name? He was the god of the underworld. That, I get. Because let’s face it. If you have a heavenly being who is watching over people from heaven, there has to be one… well, you know where.”
“That’s Hades.”
“Right, Hades.” Henry chuckled. “That was one of my favorite Disney movies as a kid. The blue fire for hair? Awesome.” Henry paused, then glanced at Sam. He wasn’t even sure why they were on this topic. “What were you going to say? When you brought up Athena…”
She dragged her eyes from him and stared at her plate again. “Athena,” she murmured again. “It’s my name.”
His body went cold. It was one of the strangest sensations. He couldn’t have heard her right. She’d already told him her name. He’d told everyone her name was Sam. Was she messing with him?
Her eyes met his again. “Actually, I don’t know what my real name is. Remember when I told you how I was found?”
Henry nodded slowly. “They found you on the side of a road.”
“Right.” She shut her eyes tight. “Actually, when they found me, they didn’t know what to call me, so they let my first foster family name me. Legally, I’m Kira…” Clouds of darkness filled her eyes when she opened them. “But I don’t go by that name anymore.”
“So…” he hedged, “you want to be called Athena.”
She stared hard at her plate again. “I don’t usually get called anything by anyone. Up until right at this moment, I’ve never told anyone my real name.”
Henry’s lungs seemed to freeze up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Of course this could also be a lie. Sam—or Athena—whoever she was—could be trying to manipulate him. But something inside him refused to let himself believe it. He had a chance to be there for her in a way no one else had before. He couldn’t let this become a life-altering moment for the worst.
Athena let out a dark chuckle. “I don’t even know why I told you. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought I was crazy. Heck, you probably already think that.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy. I already told you… I think you’re brave. And smart.” Henry peered down at her, waiting for her to meet his gaze. “Athena,” he whispered. When she finally lifted her eyes, he smiled. “I think it suits you. Only someone with a name like that would have been able to survive this long.”
A tear slipped from her eye and dragged down her cheek. He hooked his finger and swiped it away. Athena released a laugh that could have been mistaken for a sob. “I don’t know why I’m crying. Something has to be wrong with me.”
“Nothing is wrong with you.”
“How do you know?” she demanded. “How could you possibly know that? I don’t even know how to sit at a family dinner without getting stage fright. All I’m good at is finding places to eat and sleep.”
“That’s more than a lot of people are capable of. Take my brother, for instance. He didn’t know where to sleep after you stole his room.”
For the first time, Athena released a genuine laugh. It was short, but the most melodious sound he’d heard thus far in his life. Henry joined in with her. “See? If you were crazy, we wouldn’t be sitting here having fun.”
She wiped at her eyes. “Who says I’m having fun?”
He shrugged. “I just know.” Henry picked up his chicken, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as she reached for her own. He’d call tonight a win. He couldn’t explain the feelings surging inside him; all he knew was that he was doing the right thing.
They ate in silence for several minutes before she put down a bare chicken wing and turned toward him. “Thank you for the clothes, but I don’t think—”
“You don’t like them?”
She blinked. “I didn’t say that.”
“So, you do like them. Tell me you tried them on. Because I seriously don’t think I could spend another afternoon in that shop picking out stuff for a person I don’t know.”
Athena bit back a smile, clearly trying to hide it, but she failed miserably. “I tried them on.”
“And they fit?”
